Sermon for the Transfiguration by Archdeacon Bette at Christ Church, St. Joseph, La.
My
son has a girl friend. Like an amazing number of young couples today, they met
online—on Twitter, to be precise. She lives two states away. But that does not
prevent them from “hanging out,” watching television together, even playing
video games together.
How
do they do that? It’s called “face time.” And it’s possible because phones
today have video cameras built into them. And it helps that “long distance”
calling is now no different than calling the house next door.
I
imagine most of us have had at least one experience something like those
described in today’s lessons—a mountaintop experience, a vision or dream that
changed our life (Exodus 24:12-18 & Matthew 17:1-9, NRSV). “Face time” with
God, if you will, and you don’t have to go to a geographic mountain to
experience it.
Of
course, there are those among us who scoff at such things. Those who take pride
in being realists. Those who believe that dreams are just dreams and visions
always frauds, and nothing is real save what we apprehend with our human senses
and rational minds.
The
human intellect is a wonderful thing and a great gift from God that we should
use to its fullest capacity. But in comparison to the mind of God, human
intellect is profoundly limited.
I
am sorry for those who live so thoroughly inside their own cranium that they
cannot find meaning in dreams, visions and mountaintop experiences. Their world
is small. They are not available to be transformed by face time with God!
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